How to protect the data on your lost or stolen iPhone

Losing your iPhone can be a disaster. Not only are you out the hundreds of dollars that you paid for the phone you will need to buy a new one for hundreds more. But that is not all, now the thief or person who found the iPhone has access to all your personal data. The good news is that there is some things that you can do before you lose the phone and after you lose the phone that can help to protect your data.

1. Set a Passcode - This is a very basic security feature that you can add to you iPhone whenever you want. When you set a Passcode you will force someone to enter the correct code or they can not use the phone. While it is best to do this before you iPhone is lost or stolen you can still set it after the phone is missing. To set a Passcode after the phone is gone simply use Find My iPhone to set the Passcode over the Internet.

2. Delete Data after 10 incorrect Passcode entries - You can set your iPhone to delete all of its data after someone incorrectly enters the Passcode 10 times. This is one way to make sure you data stays out of the wrong hands but you had better be good at remembering your Passcode because you could erase your data yourself.

3. Wipe the Data Remotely with iPhone Apps – Find My Phone is not the only option for tracking and wiping your iPhone. There are at least a dozen apps that help you protect your iPhone. Do a search at the App Store.

4. Change other Passcodes – Once your phone gets stolen you will want to protect other digital assets. Change your email Passcode to stop the thief from sending emails from you iPhone. Change Passcodes to iTunes and your online banking accounts.

By Jon Roland